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Report -Forthar Tunnel, Kettlebridge, Fife June 2011

28DL Member

My first report. I found this tunnel some time ago but didn't have a torch with me and only groped my way in for about 20m, before the light gave out. My dog and I revisited the other day. The tunnel portal is at National Grid NO 29796 06749.

The tunnel originally carried a mineral line from the main Edinburgh-Aberdeen railway line (which still runs past the portal), southwards under the A914 road, to a major quarry - now disused - at Forthar. The cutting of the line still runs up the northern side of the private road to Forthar farm: it's marked as 'drain' on the current 1:10,000 map.

The tunnel lies on the line of a 1940 anti-invasion, anti-tank stop line (the Scottish Command Line). The mineral line appears on a 1940 military map as the site of a permanent 'block' under the road. This is probably the origin of the massive concrete cube, corner on, that blocks the tunnel about 30-40m in.

There are pipes above and beside the cube, which presumably carry water from further up the track bed. Judging by the sediment on the floor, and the water channels, quite a lot of water flows through sometimes.

View back towards the entrance

View of the large concrete cube blocking the tunnel.

Closer view of the large concrete block, the masonry above it, and the drainage pipes.